I have to admit, I was a bit unsure about this trip before we left for London. I had never been outside of the country before, never been on a flight for more than two hours, and really only knew one person in the class. I had no idea what the dynamic of the group would be or if the time change would be hard for me. There were all kinds of things that I was worried about. I must say, though, the trip was well worth the money and time. The city was beautiful, and I absolutely loved getting to explore this new place. Even the smallest things like riding the tube were exciting to me. Everything was new and different. When you go on a trip like this, I think the people have just as much of an impact on your experience as the places you see. That being said, I really enjoyed getting to know everyone in the class and definitely made some great friends. I had heard good things about this trip from friends who have gone on it before, and (even though not everything worked out perfectly) I would recommend this trip without a doubt. London was quite the experience and one that I will not forget.
Author: Melissa Sutton
Banksy Tour
Before this trip, I really knew nothing about graffiti, street art, or anything of that nature. A couple days ago we had the option to go on a “Banksy tour” around London. It was really cool to see the different styles of art and to learn about the stories behind some of the art. The piece in the photo below is a Bambi piece showing Princess Diana as Mary Poppins. I never realized how much thought went into street art and how interesting it all is. I definitely plan on watching the documentaries about Banksy and learning more about it all. Overall, I have really loved this trip and have enjoyed myself so much more than I expected. It was awesome getting to explore a new city (and country) and make new friends.
Street Art by Bambi
Tate Modern
We were unable to get back into Westminster Abbey today, so a few of us went to Tate Modern to do our second sketch there. In the 3D/architecture area of the galleries, I found a piece that interested me immediately. While I love abstract art, I also find art with a clear geometric order to be intriguing. I think that’s why this piece stuck out to me. I also enjoy perspective drawings, and the boxes showed perspective well. It actually reminded me of an exercise that we did in an intro to drawing class my freshman year at OSU. We would draw a series of ovals that were thick to thin and back to thick. Shading the ovals in the right places helped you see how your perspective of something that is truly round changes based on your elevation relative to the object. This aspect of the boxes was pretty obvious, so I thought it might be a cool sketch.
Untitled 1980, Donald Judd
Stonehenge
A good portion of Tuesday was spent in the bus; however, it was still a nice day. Getting to the bus by 7am was a struggle, but it was well worth it. Our first stop was at Stonehenge. While we walked up to the site, I realized that those rocks were just as massive – if not more – than I had imagined. I am not entirely sure what it is about Stonehenge that interests me so much, but I think part of it has to do with the mystery or simply unknown details behind it. While many people have their own ideas of how the stones were transported there or maybe even why that spot was specifically chosen, we really do not know all of the answers to these questions. We only had about 45 minutes to look at the stones and go through the visitor center, but I spent my entire time at the stones. Also, we took a moment to take an OHIO photo in front of the stones. A sketch was not required, but I also decided to do one of those simply because I have found that I pay much more attention to details when I do these sketches. I think the sketch and the photo help show how massive these rocks are. Thankfully it did not rain, and we quickly set out for Stourhead. I was not sure what to expect of stourhead, but it was far more beautiful than I thought. Even though it was all manmade, it still was really nice to walk through. Some of my favorite parts were the different types of trees (I love trees) and the stone walkways/rooms like the grotto and the one on the way to Apollo’s Temple. Our day ended in Salisbury where we saw the Salisbury Cathedral and walked through the town.
OHIO at Stonehenge
St. Paul’s Cathedral
Yesterday was day one in London. The day consisted of various things like passing out Oyster cards, visiting Building Centre, walking through the Museum of London, and more. One of the buildings I was most excited to see was St. Paul’s Cathedral; and, let me tell ya, it did not disappoint. The building itself was just beautiful. Also, the first thing I did after walking in was climb the countless flights of stairs to the whispering gallery, the stone gallery, and the golden gallery. It was really interesting to get to see St. Paul’s from the various levels. For example, taking a moment at the whispering gallery to pause and look down gave a new perspective of the space. The whole experience of climbing between the two domes and seeing the view was incredible – not to mention tiring. While I did love getting to sketch and explore the space, it saddens me a bit that a place that used to once be a place solely for religious purposes has now turned into a tourist attraction. I cannot comment on this much more because I do not know the logistics of it all, but this thought crossed my mind a few times while we were there. Overall, it was a wonderful first day!
St. Paul’s
Pre-Departure
I’m going to be in three different countries today. If we’re being completely honest, I am pretty nervous about this trip. Don’t get me wrong, I have been insanely excited for so long; however, I have never flown outside of the country before. This is new for me. I cannot wait to finally get to see, experience, photograph, and sketch the architecture in London.
Of the few architecture classes I have taken so far, it all has really inspired me. When learning about many of these spaces or buildings, I always thought it would be amazing to have the opportunity to actually experience those places first-hand. Last year at this time, I would never have thought I would be getting ready to head out for London for 10 days. I think that the way the trip is set up will really help each of us get the most out of the trip. I like how we have set days and times that we will be visiting major pieces of architecture; on the other hand, we also have a large amount of free time to visit museums during the days, try new restaurants in the evenings, and get to travel outside of London on our final day.
London, here we come!
Melissa’s Bio
Hi, everyone! My name is Melissa, but I also go by Mel. I was raised with three other sisters in Gahanna, Ohio, a suburb northeast of Columbus. My family was a buckeye family from the start, so I always knew I wanted to go to Ohio State.
Even though I knew I wanted to come to OSU, I had no idea what I wanted to do for a career. I tried out civil engineering and architecture; however, I am now a third year majoring in mechanical engineering with a minor in architectural studies. I ended up with the minor because took a couple architecture classes last spring and absolutely loved them.
While being at Ohio State, I have realized I have a love for exploring and traveling. I went on a trip last spring break to the Everglades and the Ten Thousand Islands. We spent the week living out of our kayaks while kayaking from island to island each day. It was a difficult but amazing trip, and I knew that I wanted to do something just as exciting this year. During my previous architecture classes, I heard about the opportunity to study abroad. After learning that this class had some focus on sketching and was also in a country I have never seen, I knew I would love it.
I have always loved all things related to art, including painting, drawing, working with clay, but I have found that charcoal is my favorite. I enjoy watching and playing just about any sport with volleyball being my favorite. I also am a lover of exploring the outdoors and playing the piano. I recently became interested in photography, so I am most excited to get to sketch and photograph London.
Sea Kayaking Trip, March 2017
A Photo of Me With My Favorite Animal in the Dominican Republic, December 2016
Melissa’s Selfie
